


If We Have Each Other

by CanonicallySoulmates



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester are Jack Kline's Parents, Family, Father's Day, Gen, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Original Female Character, POV Outsider, Post-Season/Series 14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 07:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19246786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanonicallySoulmates/pseuds/CanonicallySoulmates
Summary: He quietly explains to her that he already has something for Sam but he couldn't find anything for Dean, that he really wanted to gift him something he would like but that could pass off as something other than a Father's day present in case Dean didn't want a gift from him, he was about to give up when he remembered how much Dean loved her blueberry pie so he saved up the money he had earned by helping Sam with odds and ends to buy it himself, and snuck out of the house early that morning to go to her dinner .





	If We Have Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Alec Benjamin's song of the same name.

Linda has seen a lot of people come through her dinner over the years, most of them just passing by on their way to some other, bigger, destination but some stick around and settle in her small town eventually becoming regulars like the mysterious family that suddenly rolled into town one night and didn't leave, the Winchesters. They've been living in town for almost 4 months now but not much is known about them, in fact, Linda's pretty sure she knows the most out of the whole town and that's saying a lot; they tend to keep to themselves making them an odd bunch for this usually social little town. You won't find them in the pews on Sunday with the rest of the God-fearing people or in any of the town meetings or activities, but they don't cause any trouble and that's good enough to keep everybody happy.

She met them the same night they arrived in town it was well after her usual closing time and the only thing that had prevented her from locking up had been the few remaining customers that were scattered around finishing their meals when the three of them limped in looking like they had just fought a war. Even though the kitchen was closed for the day and she'd be locking up soon the poor boys had looked so exhausted she hadn't had the heart to turn them away, offering them, instead, some leftover pie and a fresh cup of coffee.

After that night the Winchester's quickly became regulars at her dinner and little by little, as the days and weeks passed, she went learning more about them, their names , that they're originally from Kansas, that they're the ones who bought the dilapidated farmhouse on the edge of town that has long been rumored to be haunted. And the more she gets to know them the more it seems they steal a little piece of her heart, before long she's developed a noticeable soft spot for the little family, especially for the youngest one, Jack. A quiet kid who never goes anywhere without one of his father's being nearby; her papa used to say she always had a heart for the broken ones and to Linda, the Winchester's were visibly broken.

It's clear to her that they care for one another of that she has no doubts, but while to others they may seem like a normal family she has been on this earth long enough to recognize the invisible weight they carry on their shoulders that their smiles don't reach their eyes and their laughter is muted, she's noticed how sometimes their eyes will glaze over and they'll stare into nothingness until something jolts them back to the present and how certain loud sounds make Dean jump or make Sam grip his left hand so tight that he cuts off his own circulation. Has noticed the times Sam starts to reach for Dean before pulling back, sees the distance that's between them even when they're all together in one booth. Notices how both Sam and Dean sit further away from Jack and how they never refer to him as their son.

They remind her of a family that used to live in town many years ago, the Addington's, closer a family you wouldn't find than them until tragedy struck and they lost one of their children in a horrible accident, after that they drifted apart until they all left the town and went their own way; secretly, Linda wonders if that's what happened to the Winchester's, if they were struck by tragedy and were trying to fix what had been broken.

 

* * *

 

It's an early Saturday morning at the diner when the youngest Winchester quietly shuffles in by himself; the visit is a surprising one, while the Winchester's frequently go to her dinner, it's rare to see them alone and Jack is never seen without one or both of his fathers nearby. He's visibly nervous as he sits down at the counter, playing with the sleeves of his too big sweater, but as tempted as she is to ask him why he's there by himself she's learned with the Winchesters it's better not to pry if there's something they wish to share they will in their own time. So instead of questioning him, she offers to make him some pancakes free of charge if he helps her set up the tables.

He works quietly but efficiently; the silence only broke by the coffee maker, the sizzle of the griddle pan and the scrapping of chairs, she had forgotten how nice it was to have some company at the dinner early in the morning and she contemplates asking Jack if he'd like to earn some money by helping her out around the dinner every once in a while. Halfway through his work he starts talking and by the time he's done setting up the tables and wiping down the booths the air is filled with the comforting scent of warm pancakes and freshly brewed coffee, and he's told her about his quest of trying every single candy in the candy store and how Sam and him had an impromptu picnic in their backyard which moved the conversation to how the renovation is going and how they're almost halfway done with fixing up the house, it's the most she's ever heard him speak and she starts thinking the kid just wanted somebody else to talk to other than his parents but there's a natural lull in the conversation and when Jack speaks again it's to shyly ask if she could please bake him a blueberry pie so he could gift it to Dean on Father's day.

Everybody in town knows Linda makes the best pies, even better than the local bakeries so she's used to costumers asking if she'd sell them the whole thing instead of just a slice yet Jack's request still catches her by surprise. He quietly explains to her that he already has something for Sam but he couldn't find anything for Dean, that he really wanted to gift him something he would like but that could pass off as something other than a Father's day present in case Dean didn't want a gift from him, he was about to give up when he remembered how much Dean loved her blueberry pie so he saved up the money he had earned by helping Sam with odds and ends to buy it himself, and snuck out of the house early that morning to go to her dinner .

Maybe it's the way his oversized sweater and mussed up hair makes him look more like a lost child than the young adult he's supposed to be or the big pleading eyes he gave her when she starts telling him that their local baker Paul sells the whole pie and that she's sure Dean would love one of those just as much, maybe it's the fact that when she's watching him walk away her eyesight locks on the booth in the corner and her mind flashes back to how the last time he and Dean had been there by themselves they barely spoke and how much it reminded her of her family, or the fleeting thought that maybe if somebody had helped her family they wouldn't have ended up drifting apart like dandelions in the wind, that makes her stop Jack before he can walk out the door.

Due to a long-standing agreement between her and Paul, she can't sell Jack a whole pie but she can teach him and help him bake a blueberry pie for Dean and in exchange, Jack will keep her company around the dinner in the mornings until Father's Day arrives. Jack is a surprisingly fast learner, quickly learning all the rules of pie making and when Father's Day rolls around a week later, he leaves the dinner with two perfectly baked pies to surprise his dad's with, a blueberry one for Dean and a cherry one for Sam.

 

* * *

 

The next time the Winchester's walk into her dinner there's a little less weight on their shoulders, their smiles are brighter, they sit a little closer together, she even sees Sam and Dean holding hands at one point, and for the first time since she's meet them she hears Jack refer to Sam and Dean as his dad and papa.

She'll never learn the details of what happened that Father's Day or what drove the Winchesters to her town in the first place but as time passes and she sees them become closer she knows that whatever it was they were hoping to fix became a little less broken after that Sunday.

**Author's Note:**

> Regardless of Dabb I still love the relationship Jack had with the boys and I'm still on the jack is Sam and Dean's son train so I wanted to write something for father's day since I had done a piece last year. Not what I had originally planned and you can tell I ran out of steam at the end but we'll roll with it; this takes place after the season 14 finale in an AU where Jack didn't die and the boys retired to a small no-name town. 
> 
> Crossposted as always on tumblr @ canonicallysoulmates.


End file.
